Students at a north London girls’ school who were invited to meet Michelle Obama at Oxford University told today how she had inspired them to succeed.

The First Lady invited the pupils from Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington to meet her last year after striking up friendships during an official visit to Britain in 2009. This year, she asked a dozen students, aged 13 to 15, to see her in Washington.

Today the school was celebrating its best results, with 81 per cent getting five GCSEs at C or above and 99 per cent getting at least five passes, including English and maths.

Gabrielle Watts, 16, from central London, who got seven A*s, six As and two Bs, said: “The support of other students and teachers has been good and it would have been a lot harder without them. I would love to go to Oxford University and become a barrister.

“Seeing Michelle Obama at Oxford was inspirational. She was a catalyst within the school. I saw an increase in people saying, ‘ Maybe I can do this, maybe I can be a doctor or a lawyer’. It was the way she presented herself.”

Silan Fidan, from Islington, who got 11 A*s and one A, said: “I am really happy with my results. You get out what you put in. I put in a lot of effort, but I was not expecting it to be this good. Michelle Obama came to see us at a good time. It was when we were starting our revision and it motivated us. She said that you can only achieve if you put in everything you have got.”

Headteacher Jo Dibb said: “We have got young women who are committed to their learning, who want to achieve and staff who are prepared to support them in whatever way possible.

“It is about hard work and commitment — that is the message that Michelle Obama had when she came. Her visit fuelled the ambition that was there and made them even more determined to succeed.”